The Path to Freedom

Where are you and where are you going?
detect_148
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:00 am

Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

A lot has changed in the past few months. I have been successfully living a lean, ERE lifestyle having cut out restaurants, caffeine, and peanut butter which were the last of my few remaining vices. I have also been doing hella burpees for physical fitness and reading and language learning for mental fitness.

Recently, a group of reptilian shapeshifters unleashed a contagion in the midst of the human race. Their aim is to eliminate those unfit for servitude so that the survivors can be enslaved or farmed for food. Those already in positions of control have orchestrated mass panic in order to issue a death blow to the current economic and political systems, ushering in a new world order of supreme reptilian authority.

You may be wondering how to adequately prepare for such a scenario. This is a great question and I will edify you on my response. I have not sold any of my financial assets at this time. Alas, money and other financial interests will be useless once the new world order has been established. Instead, I have begun buying more stocks in hopes that the humans will emerge victorious at which point I will emerge wealthy and assume a bourgeois, urban lifestyle. More likely, however, I will either be killed by the contagion or another panicked human at the grocery store seeking the last of the organic yellow onions.

I am also fabricating a bow and arrows out of locally harvested bamboo. There are several reasons for this. I anticipate the need to hunt birds and small mammals until spring and its natural forage emerges in my locality. Also, modern weapons are not useful against the reptilians, as their telepathy is able to manipulate electronics and objects composed of metal. As you read this, I am resoundingly certain that the reptilians are already on their way to my domicile to apprehend me, for I know the truth. I stand ready and waiting to plunge my arrows into their cold blooded eyes and feast on their flesh.

I invite all those of you brave enough to join me in a battle for the future.

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about foraging on here, but I hope you folks have at least done some experimenting with it. I have gotten extremely good at foraging mushrooms over the past few years, but I never felt like I could use that skill to offset my food spending in any meaningful way due to their low calorie content. It was rather just a way to produce tinctures and add some flavor and variety to my home cooking. However, nut foraging has been a game changer for me. There was a bumper crop of black walnuts and pecans this year in my area and after spending the month of October gathering them, I now have easily several hundred pounds of nuts in shell. I’ve learned the process of dehusking the walnuts and drying/curing them and bought a device to easily crack their hard shells.

Nuts are expensive to buy in the store, but I never realized how easy it is to get them for free. On top of that, the flavor of foraged nuts is divine by comparison. Black walnuts are typically harder to find in the store and their flavor is completely different than the less favorable english walnut that is cultivated commercially. I’m sure these fresh nuts are much healthier than the store bought alternatives and with their high calorie content, long shelf life and nutritional content, they are of immense value to me.

Since last posting, I have been playing frisbee golf multiple times per week. It turned out to be favorable activity considering the covid situation throughout this year, but it is also free to play and I have never had to purchase a disc. If you look hard enough, it is easy to find lost discs in the woods and most people don’t bother to write their phone number on them. There is a large local community of frisbee golfers making it a good way to socialize too. Overall, it is a very ERE friendly pursuit.

As far as finances go, my net worth has blown up this year because of the stock market recovery and my expenses have gone down a bit due to changes in my spending habits related to Covid and also relocating to a more affordable dwelling. My withdrawal rate currently stands at 2.94%. I am in a solid position to leave my job whenever I want to. The only reason I don’t is because I am, admittedly, a coward. To overcome this, I need to become more comfortable with the uncertainty of changing my life in a meaningful way and develop a more clear vision of what I want out of life because up to this point, I’ve been pretty much mindlessly drifting along with no macro sense of direction. I think my motivation for ERE has mostly come from a mistrust/hatred of authority and desire to carry my childhood with me into adulthood. In spite of having achieved ERE, my childhood is nonetheless over and I need to come to grips with that so I can move forward.

wolf
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by wolf »

detect_148 wrote:
Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:38 pm
Total liquid assets: $15900.47
Total annual spending: $21362.28
Progress towards ERE: 2.97%

Thoughts: :o I have a long way to go!
Not as long as you thought back in 2015. Wow, impressing progress, considering your age! Well done. What are your plans for the foreseeable future?

basuragomi
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by basuragomi »

Thanks for the frolf tip. There is a frolf course a bike ride away and I always wanted to try it out but asking gearheads for disc recommendations is an offputting experience.

What happens if you re-examine your vision for life and you still find a place in it for paid employment? Is it still cowardice if you work because you enjoy it?

7Wannabe5
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Frolf can also be a lucrative activity. I used to hike in an area frequented by frat boy frolf players and they always left tons of returnable bottles and cans strewn about.

AxelHeyst
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by AxelHeyst »

Hey there detect, I just found your journal. Nice to find another Bay Area refugee (we're not exactly hard to find though, are we). I liked your march post about the reptilian overlords.
detect_148 wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 7:15 pm
Especially as a single man, I must acknowledge that there are few women that will date a willfully unemployed man. Am I willing to narrow my options even further in that department? I would be lying if I told you I didn't want to get laid at least once in awhile.
(From back in 2019, but couldn't help myself] It's just a matter of framing, isn't it? Good luck with being "willfully unemployed" - I'm planning on being "A private wealth manager, amateur intellectual, and parallel entrepreneur". (The fact that few of my parallel entrepreneurial endeavors will be aimed at generating *fiscal* incomes is well beyond relevant, I think.) You'll need a stick to keep your courters at bay.

My DW is in to foraging, and connected with a few prominent foragers in the MW. It's on my to-do list at some point.

I'm interested in your path at this juncture - it sounds like you've come up on this milestone of "arguably FI" without a clear sense of what specifically you want to do with that independence. It's almost like the idea or the principle of freedom has been more important than the actual practice of it. Your employment status can't tell us anything about your level of courage. It's the alignment between your vision for your life and your actual behavior that reflects cowardice or courage. And a lack of a concrete vision is a form of passive cowardice - it's deciding not to decide, isn't it? You're a speck of dust suspended for a instant over an abyss of non-Being. (I think I'm ripping off Nietzsche there, or maybe Hesse). I find it fascinating how achieving FI can make it obvious to people (where it wasn't before) that they do in fact lack a vision as concrete as they thought. Obviously I'm interested in this from a selfish perspective, as it's a place I hope to be productively traveling through myself in a few years.

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

@wolf: Thank you for the kind compliment. I don't really have any long term plans at the moment, I would like to go snowboarding soon though.

@basuragomi: In my opinion, the best disc is the one that you throw well. In other words, you can read all the stats and think up reasons why a disc will be good, but you'll never know for sure until you actually throw it. That's the problem with buying a disc from the store that you haven't throw before. Find someone that plays and spend time throwing their discs around until you get a feel for them.

I don't see a problem with working if that is what someone chooses to do, but my job in particular does not feel like a good use of my time and I would suspect that most jobs fit in that category unless one needs the money badly. If I do keep working long term, it will most likely be in a different field.

7Wannabe5: Agreed. There are a ton of cans on the courses I play at. Unfortunately, we don't have a bottle return here.

@AxelHeyst: That's great advice. I definitely need to rebrand my label for an individual that does not work.

On your second point, before I make a change to my life I have a desire to feel like I'm stepping forward into a well defined, meaningful direction with some clear goal. I'm not sure why.. perhaps because I have had to be so goal oriented while pursuing ERE. I am unable to define a new phase of life because I'm not sure what larger narrative in life is worth working towards. That sounds like depression, but it doesn't feel like that, more like an overdose of nihilism in my thought process. The only solution I can think of to that sort of dilemma is to spend time exploring new perspectives and arenas of life until a path emerges and that is what I plan to do.

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Mister Imperceptible
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by Mister Imperceptible »

What about the bees?

Every beekeeper is responsible for everybody (bees) else.
(I read your post last Thanksgiving but was too busy with festivities to comment)

detect_148
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Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:00 am

Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

I would love to have bees again as long as I can commit to being in one place for at least a full season. I left my beloved bees behind during my last move. :(

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

I achieved a big personal goal this year by having a major surgery. That may sound like a strange goal, but it was necessary to avoid premature death due to a congenital heart issue. The surgery went exceptionally well and I am well on my way to making a full recovery. It took me several months of research, planning, testing, meeting with doctors, etc. to get to the point where I was scheduled for the procedure. Preparing and traveling for the surgery was an ordeal in itself, but I would say the most challenging part has been the recovery. I'm now late in the recovery period which has involved a lot of rest, eating well, exercise, and physical therapy to ensure that I heal well and regain the full scope of my endurance and strength. In total I've had almost three months off work which has been fantastic in spite of the circumstances. I have spent a lot of time catching up with old friends, reading, watching good films, and starting a new hobby of drawing. In a way, this functioned as a preview of how I might live my life without the burden of a full time job. However, the major difference here is that I haven't been able to be anywhere near as physically active as I would normally be.

I've known for awhile that I would need this procedure and I realize now that this was probably my biggest motivator for staying with my current employer. The disability insurance that I have through work provided me with my full salary throughout the entire duration of my recovery which minimized the financial distress from going through this whole process. Of course my medical insurance came in handy as well, covering thousands of dollars in expenses.

I have been extremely lazy about monitoring my finances during this time, but my frugal habits have stuck and I can see that my networth has increased substantially this year. My intention over these next few months is to determine how to move forward in my life now that I have come out on the other side of what I consider to be a major turning point. What to do with the *hopefully* many years of good health ahead of me?

If anyone else has experience dealing with major health issues, I would be interested to hear how it has impacted your plans and desire for ERE. I looked for posts in the health section of the forum, but I couldn't really find any posts that resembled my situation.

shaz
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by shaz »

I don't know if you could say that my situation resembles yours, but here is how my major health issue is impacting my plans and desires for ERE.

First the background: in October of 2020, I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Since then I have had 2 surgeries, chemo, radiation, more radiation, more chemo. Now I am in wait and see mode - the odds are 50/50 whether treatment beat the cancer or I will die of it in the next few years.

How did this affect my desire and plans for ERE? It presents me with a dilemma. On the one hand, I feel a certain urgency to walk away from employment and spend all of my time doing the things that I value most. On the other hand, knowing that even in the best case scenario I will be spending a lot more money on healthcare than I had planned on, the math of ERE has gotten trickier.

I also debate about whether it is more important to spend as much time with my husband as possible (in which case I should retire immediately), or leave him in the best financial position possible (in which case the longer I draw a paycheck, the better).

I think probably what I will do is remain employed for the next 2 years while I need a lot of follow up treatment/scans/etc even if everything goes optimally. That stuff is expensive and my current job pays pretty well plus gives me a lot of flexibility for going to appointments. Then if my health is doing OK I will retire. That is my thinking right now but that could change by next week. It is all a lot to process.

Will you need any long term follow up from your procedure? That might play into your decision about when to go full on ERE. Also, the only ACA health insurance plan in my state that would let me keep my current oncology team would cost me about $12,000 per year with subsidies (this includes health insurance premiums + max out of pocket but does not include any potential medication copays). So if keeping the doctor who did your surgery is important, you should take a look at which health insurance options would let you do that and what they will cost.

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

@shaz I appreciate you sharing your story. It sounds like what you are saying is that going full ERE now would, to some extent, be analogous to giving up and choosing to be defeated by the disease since it makes sense financially to stay employed even if you quickly go into remission. I don't have a spouse, but I can understand the desire to consider what is best for your husband as well. I'm wishing the best of health for the both of us in the future.

The follow up required for my surgery is an MRI at one year post op which allows the surgeon to say with certainty whether the surgery was a success or not. If I quit my job now, I would probably have this done overseas at a private hospital with significantly lower prices than the US. I have looked into the ACA in my state as well, but I am not happy with the prices for one, but also the extent to which it limits the in-network doctors to only those practicing within 30 minutes of my house. All plans are HMO with this limitation. I traveled overseas for my surgery because the specific procedure I had was not offered in the US, but even if I had stayed within the country for a similar procedure, I would have needed to visit a specialized surgical center a minimum of 300 miles from where I currently live. For me, the best and most responsible option for retirement would be to relocate to a major city with more extensive healthcare resources, assuming a future need arises for them, or expatriate to a country with a lower cost of living and a better healthcare system (I'm considering Portugal or Ecquador).

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

I’m grappling with the possibility that I might be incredibly stupid. I have always been too arrogant (not outwardly) to hold this belief, but my ruminations lately have brought to this point. Please critique my errant thoughts.

I’m currently at approx 31 years of expenses saved and considering taking out a mortgage before leaving my job. I have always been anti home ownership, but lately the prospect of having a legal right to reside somewhere seems attractive after being forced to move once per year since 2018. I want land on which to grow food if I so choose. Locking in a fixed monthly payment seems like a good way to protect against rent inflation over time. I can pay cash for a house, but will have capital gains taxes to pay if I do. I’m more comfortable with stock market investments than having a big chunk of cash in a house. I plan to take in a Roomate to offset maintenance and interest expenses. I don’t want to be pushed out of my community permanently due to cost of living increases because I am very socially connected here. I live in a cheap, southern, but desirable real estate market. All of these aspects make a leveraged real estate investment look attractive. Please correct my thinking.

I planned to buy Tesla stock in college at around $20/share after realizing that humanity’s desire for and belief that electric cars were needed would drive the company to success. I didn’t pull the trigger. Later my perception of the company was colored by negative observations of their business practices while working inside their factory. I passed on opportunities to buy at ~$150 and convinced others to exercise their stock options at $340, all before the stock split. This is probably the greatest mistake/ missed opportunity of my life.

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Mister Imperceptible
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by Mister Imperceptible »

I passed on sub-$1000 bitcoin because I got the same vibes from those shilling bitcoin that I did from people trying to sell me on a pyramid scheme in a Best Western lobby. Don’t beat yourself up too much. Maybe consider putting some small amount into such things in the future so if they go to zero it doesn’t hurt too badly. Invest to minimize regret.

Housing valuations are sky high but for the reasons you mentioned a mortgage is reasonable if you don’t go crazy and lock in too high of a price. I just negotiated a 30-year-fixed at 3.99% into a 40-year-fixed at 2.875%. It is a subsidized rate and might allow you to be more efficient with your capital. Seems like the reasonable thing to do if buying a house at all. Buying a house with cash seems less prudent than not buying at all because of the inefficiency and concentration risk.

You could keep bees again.

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RFS
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by RFS »

detect_148 wrote:
Wed Nov 10, 2021 10:11 am
I’m grappling with the possibility that I might be incredibly stupid. I have always been too arrogant (not outwardly) to hold this belief, but my ruminations lately have brought to this point. Please critique my errant thoughts.
They say true wisdom begins when you realize that you are, in fact, incredibly stupid :P
detect_148 wrote:
Wed Nov 10, 2021 10:11 am
I’m currently at approx 31 years of expenses saved and considering taking out a mortgage before leaving my job. I have always been anti home ownership, but lately the prospect of having a legal right to reside somewhere seems attractive after being forced to move once per year since 2018. I want land on which to grow food if I so choose. Locking in a fixed monthly payment seems like a good way to protect against rent inflation over time. I can pay cash for a house, but will have capital gains taxes to pay if I do. I’m more comfortable with stock market investments than having a big chunk of cash in a house. I plan to take in a Roomate to offset maintenance and interest expenses. I don’t want to be pushed out of my community permanently due to cost of living increases because I am very socially connected here. I live in a cheap, southern, but desirable real estate market. All of these aspects make a leveraged real estate investment look attractive. Please correct my thinking.
I think this is a reasonable assessment. Our nation's leaders seem firmly committed to an inflationary crisis, and your plan is a smart move in light of this. It sounds to me like you're not just making a leveraged real estate investment- you're making a leveraged real estate investment to minimize your own cash outflows.

The price of rent, transportation fuel, and food- virtually everything- is likely going to continue rising at unprecedented levels. It'd be a great hedge (especially if you don't lock in too high of a monthly payment, as Mister Imperceptible said.)

If you haven't already, I would check out Thinking In Bets by Annie Duke.

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

@Mister Imperceptible - I passed on bitcoin too for the same reasons. I appreciate the encouragement and yes, if I bought a house I would 100% keep bees again!

@RFS - Thanks for the book recommendation. Uncertainty often throws me into bouts of analysis paralysis from which I cannot escape. I don't know if this is a problem worthy of therapy, but maybe the book will help. lol

Still holding me back is the opportunity cost of not being able to move quickly without walking away from a chuck of money from the process of divesting or the complexity of having to rent it out. I was reading Giskard's journal about his experience having to leave Minneapolis and was reminded that sometimes the circumstances of your own life or those imposed on you by the external environment can change quickly, sometimes warranting significant adaptation/change.

I am also lately having regrets about giving away my ERE book. After I read it cover to cover circa 2016, I donated it to a local thift store as I often do with purchased books that I have finished. My hope was that some poor, lost soul would find it, be evangelized and change their life for the better, as I have done. However, I now find myself wanting to revisit some of the chapters, such as the discussions on Wheaton levels to figure out where I am in comparison to several years ago. I see Jacob as a prophet in a secular aspect and the ERE book as a pseudo religious text that is best revisited from time to time. Perhaps one should even read a passage daily before each meal with loved ones in order to stay on the straight and narrow path.

AxelHeyst
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by AxelHeyst »

The wheaton levels didn't come on to the scene until 2016; they're not in the book.

Which isn't to discourage you from getting another copy; I've found a great liturgical exercise is to read the book and make notes about how the WL's *would* map to the various chapters and verses^H^H^H^H er, subsections.

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

I've been revisiting my lifestyle design in detail and realize a desire to get back to the basics in terms of ERE philosophy. I have lived at Wheaton level 5 pretty much since I started pursuing ERE and I haven't made much progress in advancing to higher levels of self sufficiency. I have gained a lot of the skills and ideas necessary to do so, but I have not implemented them in a meaningful way to reduce my lifestyle expenses/consumption. I’ve begun to understand that the holdup is that I need a better web of goals. I have a lot of great, attainable ideas that would push me into higher Wheaton levels, but none of them honor all of the psychological needs present in both my conscious and unconscious mind.

I expressed a desire in my last post to buy a house. Upon further reflection, I can see that this idea came from a place of attachment to my current lifestyle and relationships and logically, this is probably not a good enough reason to take the plunge. I have spent 3 years in my current location and have made a lot of great friends. I definitely lean more extrovert, so my social circles are important to me and community/connectedness is a large part of my web of goals (which at times, I have refused to acknowledge). The city just built new pickle ball courts and we have a large circle of people that spends hours and hours playing pickle ball together on a daily basis. It brings me great joy to partake in this activity and it is also of great benefit to my health to be so active. However, I have come to recognize that my current environment, though satisfying in many ways, does not meet all of my needs and desires.

A friend recently diagnosed me as an enneagram #7. Reading about this personality type, I definitely identify with the desire to obtain a constant dose of new/novel experiences. However, I see this mindset as being grossly incompatible with ERE. Having to constantly move from one place to another seeking new and thrilling experiences comes with its share of transportation costs to be sure, but also the inability to hunker down and optimize systems (e.g. permaculture). I love the idea of permaculture and there are parts of me that want to buy a small parcel of land and have a go at it, but in reality, I anticipate that I would find this lifestyle largely unsatisfying.

I recently took a trip to Utah to go snowboard. (To avoid ridicule, I feel like I should mention that I spent ~$400 total on the trip leveraging credit card points and splitting expenditures with friends.) During this trip I recalled how much I that I love snowboarding and felt sad that I haven’t found a way to fit it into my life in the past few years. I also learned of a local legend called “Farmer Dave.” He is clearly an OG of early retirement. He quit a corporate job in his 30s and bought a house with his wife in Salt Lake City. He had a ski pass to Alta for 40+ years, skied just about every day of every season, riding the bus to the slopes (didn’t own a car), and using the same jacket the entire time. In interviews, he talks about concepts like waste minimization, reducing expenses, etc. so he clearly gets it. I think it would be so cool to replicate this lifestyle, even if just for one ski season to honor him and live that experience. After all, Utah is one of the best ski locations in the world. Season passes for the ski resorts that I have researched are no longer available, so this will have to wait until next year at the earliest. https://www.alta.com/stories/remembering-farmer-dave

In summary, I largely feel stuck right now. I am constantly in conflict with myself, my desires, my ego, and the right course of action for various philosophical schools of thought and religious/spiritual ideals. In many ways, I identify strongly with Dostoyevsky’s “Underground Man,” trapped in his mind and unable to choose a course of action. I think I am ok with that for the time being, but if I allow this state of being to continue for too long, I risk becoming bitter, spiteful, and cynical.

detect_148
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by detect_148 »

For the sake of laffs, I have decided to publish my 2021 expense report. Yes, it is that bad. Please don't ostracize me.

Charitable giving: $117
Gifts: $155
Clothes: $179
Electronics: $234
Insurance: $323
Gambing losses: $340
Hobbies: $540
Gasoline: $932
Health insurance premiums: $1,197
Automotive ex. fuel: $1,209
Miscellaneous/uncategorized/random stuff: $1,440
Restaurants: $2957
Travel: $3,672
Groceries: $4,434
Rent: $6,000
Medical out of pocket: $62,175.08

Strengths:
  • Living situation is super cheap, but I will have to find a new place to live in May, unfortunately
  • Buy clothes at thrift stores
  • Car is paid off and incredibly inexpensive to operate
  • Preferred leisure activities can be done for free (drawing/pysanky/cycling to outdoor pickle ball courts)
  • Living for away from the nearest casino
  • Being able to file schedule A this year. Expecting a 5 figure tax return
Weaknesses:
  • Having an incurable genetic disease that I am not stoic or badass enough (in denial about?) to refuse treatment for like my father
  • Yuppie/hipster grocery shopping habits (think Trader Joes, Whole Foods, only buying organic)
  • Having friends that like to go to restaurants and going with them
  • Not being comfortable working on my own car brakes for some reason (this has changed)
  • Thinking for a moment that I was a professional card counter and having an addictive tendency towards craps
Commentary:
Safe withdrawal rate calculations are not relevant this year. If I have to have a major surgery every year then I probably don't need to plan for the future too much anyway. Fortuanately, I am in excellent health right now and extremely grateful for that. As I look over these numbers, I wonder what the money we spend says about us and to what degree it is a reflection of character and values. I find it kind of sad that I am willing to spend so much money to get the best possible medical care in order to extend my own life, but at the same time, I give so little of my own money and time to charitable causes.

7Wannabe5
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Re: The Path to Freedom

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Health trumps wealth. I am “lucky” that my semi-ere income last year was just a skooch below the ACA/Medicaid line or my out of pocket for medical this year due to treatment for Crohn’s disease would likely be more than all other expenses combined. You shouldn’t feel bad about spending money on condition that might kill you. I would rather be broke or even in significant debt than spend my remaining 20 or 30 years in misery with my condition.

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